- Business
- Kona I Co., Ltd. (052400.KQ) develops and provides fintech solutions and platforms, including digital identification, payment, mobility, and blockchain services, primarily for financial, telecommunications, public, and enterprise sectors in South Korea and internationally. The company offers IC chips and smart cards with proprietary chip operating systems certified by Visa and Mastercard; MONA, a USIM-based contactless service; authentication and biometric-enhanced electronic cards; KONA CARD and KONA BIZ for prepaid and business payments; KONA PLATE and local community payment platforms; taxi calling and app-based metering mobility services; Kona Blockchain as a hyperledger fabric-based blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) for private networks; Kona Research Marketing Platform for secure voting, surveys, and polls; and New Commerce Platform (NCP) for real asset token issuance and distribution. Founded in 1998 and headquartered at Excon Venture Tower in Seoul, South Korea, Kona I operates in over 90 countries, including the United States, China, India, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Brazil, and Japan, supplying more than 300 product types to approximately 500 clients worldwide. Recent developments include the establishment of KONA Japan LLC as a wholly owned subsidiary in Yokohama in July 2023 to expand in the Japanese smart card and payment market; a February 2024 partnership with IDEX Biometrics to introduce biometric smart cards for payment and access in Japan; and an April 2024 agreement to acquire the remaining stake in subsidiary Kona M Co., Ltd. for KRW 38.3 billion to consolidate payment platform operations.